Nicholas Gregory "Greg" Mankiw (born February 3, 1958) is a famous economist. He graduated from Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was an economic advisor for President George W. Bush from 2003-2005. In 2006, he became an economic adviser to Mitt Romney.[1][2]
Publications
He wrote a widely used college textbook for economics called Principles of Economics, listing 10 principles that all economies run on:
- People Face Tradeoffs (sometimes people have to choose between two things)
- The Cost of Something is What You Give Up to Get It
- Rational People Think at the Margin (people think of the pros and cons before making a purchase)
- People Respond to Incentives (when there is a reward to do something, more people will do it)
- Trade Can Make Everyone Better Off
- Markets Are Usually a Good Way to Organize Economic Activity (the economy usually does well without government interference)
- Governments Can Sometimes Improve Market Outcomes (sometimes it is necessary for the government to help the economy)
- A Country's Standard of Living Depends on Its Ability to Produce Goods and Services
- Prices Go Up When the Government Prints Too Much Money (the more money there is, the less value it has)
- Society Faces a Short-Run Tradeoff Between Inflation and Unemployment
His economic beliefs were influenced by John Maynard Keynes and he believes in Keynesian economics. He is sometimes labeled as a conservative because he supported George W. Bush's tax cuts and he has criticized the policies of the Obama Administration a few times. He also was influenced by the economist Arthur Pigou who believed that a high tax on something bad for society (called a sin tax) will result in fewer people buying it.
References
